Madagascar

Mada·gas·car (mad′ə gas′kər)

1. large island in the Indian Ocean, off the SE coast of Africa

2. country comprising this island and nearby islands: discovered by the Portuguese (1500), it became a French protectorate (1895), colony (1896), & a republic (Malagasy Republic) of the French Community; it became fully independent (1960); since 1975, the Democratic Republic of Madagascar: 226,658 sq mi (587,042 sq km); pop. 13,469,000; cap. Antananarivo